


A Series of Questions (Kitty Duval)

by silly_mortal



Category: The Time of Your Life - Saroyan
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Prostitution
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-11
Updated: 2020-09-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:48:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26405254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silly_mortal/pseuds/silly_mortal
Summary: A series of questions between Kitty and Jimmy. (A work in progress)
Relationships: Kitty Duval/Original Character
Kudos: 6





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a series of one-shot scenes in which Jimmy asks Kitty a question just after they've had a... transaction. I'll add to it here and there, whenever he asks a new question. It's just supposed to give a glimpse into how they become more than prostitute and customer. It's a work in progress.
> 
> My beautiful and tragic Kitty is always written with the one Patti LuPone played in mind.
> 
> Kitty's Timeline (so far)
> 
> The Ring  
> Grandfather  
> The Proposition  
> A Series of Questions

“Is Kitty your real name?”

Kitty, who was still lying on her back, looked over at him.

“It’s a nickname for my given name.”

“Which is what?”

“Katerina.”

“That’s pretty. Why are you called Kitty?”

“My brother and sister couldn’t say Katerina when I was born, so my parents shortened it to Kat, so they’d be able to pronounce it. They told them it was the same as a ‘kitty cat’, so they would remember it. They started calling me that and eventually the ‘Kat’ was lost and I just became Kitty.”

“Kitty-Cat… I like it. Is it ok if I call you that sometimes?”

“If you want to,” she shrugged, non-committedly.

“Is there a nickname you don’t like?”

Her face darkened and she went back to staring at the ceiling.

“Kit. I don’t like to be called Kit.”

“Why? Does it remind you of someone?” 

She didn’t answer. 

Jimmy reached over and took her hand, curling up against her side.

“Then I promise I won’t ever call you that.”

Kitty didn’t answer, but she twined her fingers with his.


	2. Chapter 2

“Do you ever just sit around and touch your breasts all day?” 

Kitty looked him, surprised. Jimmy was propped up on an elbow, lying next to her and trailing his index finger across her bare chest. He often did that, afterwards.

“No. Why would you ask that?”

“I would,” he said. “If I were a girl, I would just sit around and play with them all day long. How can you not want to touch something so perfect every chance you get?”

“You think like that because you’re a boy. I don’t think girls think about them so much, especially not their own… I mean, do you sit with your hands in your pants all day long?”

“Every chance I get,” he admitted.

Kitty laughed out loud, making Jimmy grin. He loved hearing her laugh, especially since it happened so rarely. She smirked at him a lot, and sometimes would try to suppress a chuckle, but it was rare to find something funny enough to laugh loudly.

Reaching over, he smoothed her dark hair back from her face. He moved his face close to hers and spoke, in a serious voice.

“Would you like to sit with your hands in my pants all day?”

“No,” she answered, honestly. “Would you like to sit and play with my breasts all day?”

“Yes.”

Another peal of laughter escaped her.


	3. Chapter 3

“Have you ever been in love?” 

Jimmy trailed his fingers up and down Kitty’s bare back, as she laid against his chest.

“Are you asleep?” he asked, softly, when she didn't answer.

“No.”

“Did you hear me?”

“Yes.”

Jimmy continued his ministrations, as they laid there in silence.

“I think so,” she finally answered.

“What’s it like?” 

“Exciting… and painful.”

“Why painful? I’ve never thought that love involved pain.”

“Love _always_ involves pain. No one can hurt you as much as someone you love, even if they don’t mean to.”

“You said you were married before… what was his name?”

“William.”

“How long were you together?”

“We were married for just ten days, but we lived together for about a year before that.”

“ _Ten_ days?” Jimmy sounded confused.

“He was much older than me and he had become ill very suddenly. He was already sick when we got married…. but he just lasted those ten days, before he died.”

“Was he good to you, Kitty?”

“He was probably the best any single person has ever been to me.” 

“How did you meet?”

“He was a customer. I was… _rented_ to him. But he liked me and he ended up rescuing me from the terrible situation I was in and moved me here, to San Francisco, to live with him.”

__

“To be his own personal… um… ?”

__

“I don’t know the word for what I was... He didn’t treat me like a whore, although I slept in his bed every night. He wasn’t married, so I wasn’t his mistress. He treated me like his wife, but we weren’t married then. I don’t know what I was.”

__

“Maybe you were just his love.”

__

“That’s what he always said... I was his love.”

__

“Was he yours?”

__

“Yes,” she murmured.

__

“Were you in love with him?”

__

“I think so. It seems like a lifetime ago, even though it wasn’t. I don’t know about anything anymore.”

__

“Did he ever hurt you, Kitty?” Jimmy asked, softly.

__

“Only when he left me.”

__

For awhile, the only sound in the room was their breathing.

__

Jimmy felt the wetness of her silent tears fall onto his chest. He ran his fingers through her soft hair and, when she began to sob, he wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly.

__


End file.
